The Royal Contract

"First shots are on me," Marcus shouted as they were seated in one of the best areas in the place. He did plan to get wasted and end up with a gorgeous babe on his side.

He was already eyeing the two girls, batting their eyelashes on them as soon as they entered the establishment. He knew that once he signaled for them to come over, they would be rushing to sit on his lap.

"You seem to be in a hurry to get wasted, my friend," David commented as they had barely warmed up on their seat, and Marcus was already thinking of scoring some women. 

He had observed how Marcus looked at those girls, and he already knew what he was thinking. Among the three of them, not including Alex, Marcus was the worse of them. But he was not saying that he did not have his share. He was no saint either.

"Nah, just don't want to waste precious time," Marcus answered him as he took the alcohol served immediately at their table and gulped it in one go.

He was seriously contemplating if he should beckon them on their table or try to look for something better. Although, he was not saying that the two girls were not packing the right stuff.

They were here for the sole reason of unwinding, so he certainly planned to do that. But for now, he would spend a few minutes with his friends and deal with the girls a bit later. They have the entire night for fun anyway.

"I agree with Marcus here. It had been a long time that we did this, so it is time to enjoy our night out." Evan raised his glass to his friends and drank it bottoms up. "Drink up, Alex." He said when he noticed that he only took a sip.

"I'm here to spend some time with you but not to get drunk." Alex raised his glass and drank the remaining of his drink to please his friend. 

But after that, he usually did not plan to consume more than he could handle. He always had control of his intake of alcohol. 

He only did get drunk once in his life back when they were still back in college, and he did not plan to experience that again. He never liked not being in control of his situation. 

"You are no fun at all, Alex," Marcus shouted over the noise of the club as people were starting to crowd out the place.

"I think we are getting too old for this shit." Alex pointed out to his friends, who seemed not to notice their age. 

Although, he did say in the past that he did not want commitment yet. It was not because he was immature enough to take responsibility for a committed relationship. He only thought that a relationship would be a distraction and a hindrance to his plans.

But meeting Dani and being in a relationship with her changed everything about his way of thinking. He suddenly saw her as an inspiration for achieving his goal. And a possible partner in his endeavor. 

He only wished that his friends would also realize what he was now enjoying in his life. That being in a relationship did not mean a death sentence for them.

"What's happening to you, man? Lately, we noticed many changes in you." David said as he held his second drink.

Since they came back from the trip, he noticed that Alex was acting slightly strange, especially around Dani. Although they were expecting that he would be doting on her in public, he felt that the way he was doing it was a bit extreme just for show.

"And what was that I witnessed in Dani's room earlier?" Evan suddenly remembered what he was about to ask him since he saw that scene.

He still could not believe what he witnessed in that room. They were acting out as if they were a couple, but then again, he could not figure out why since there was no audience to see them. The only logical conclusion that he could think of was that they were in a real relationship.

"Don't you know that our friend here had already decided to make the arrangement real?" Marcus interrupted the conversation.

That certainly made the two other audiences stopped on their tracks. David placed down the glass he was holding, unsure if he should believe what Marcus said. 

But then again, they could expect that from Alex. He always had the gentlest heart among them. He could easily fall in love with Dani.

Evan could not help but spat his drink as he realized that his earlier conclusion was correct. Alex and Dani were now in an authentic relationship.

"Yes, I was going to tell you about that. I decided to court Dani during our trip, and she accepted to be my girlfriend." He admitted to his friends, who were silently waiting for his explanation.

"What about your arrangement?" David was the first one to ask the question.

He was glad for his friend because he seemed to be happy with his decision. But he had to think of his welfare as his friend and personal lawyer.

"It is still in place. Nothing has changed. Although we are now in a relationship, it still doesn't mean we will end up married. I still am working on finding a solution to my situation." Alex explained to his friend.

When it came to his business, Marcus was in charge of his legal affairs. But when it came to his dealings personally, he had David to deal with it. Evan only came as an additional sounding board when there were issues they could not resolve.

"Are you sure that is such a good idea? Does she know that you are not offering her marriage at the end of this?" David, who always had the most reasonable mind among the three, asked. One thing that he liked about David was, they were almost on the same wavelength. Well, almost except for his reason for not wanting a commitment.

"We are both aware of what we had agreed on when we entered this affair. We want to take it slow and see where it would lead us. If we reached that point when we both believe that we want to get married, then we will." He elaborated to his friends.

They all looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language. He knew they never believe in true love or marriage, but what he was saying was quite simple. He liked Dani, and someday if they fell in love, he would eventually marry her.

"I hope you know what you have entered, my friend. To me, that is still a very tight spot you had placed yourself in. There are several things that I could already see that might go wrong. But that is just my opinion." David said as the other two remained quiet, so far.

"If you could only find someone as great as Dani in your life, you would know what I mean." Alex proudly stated to his friend.

He was not about to doubt what he and Dani had because his friend said it was not such a good idea.